Thirty Minutes of Thirty Days
by Anne T.M
Summary: A little addition to the Episode "Thirty Days." This is the one where Tom helps a alien speciies and ends up spending 30 days in the brig.


Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters.

Synopsis: Just a little addition to Thirty Days. It is based on an idea that I read in a story by Brianna Thomas. It was written for the contest titled "Interrupted".

Thirty Minutes of Thirty Days

By: Anne T.M.

2003

"Chakotay, what were you thinking?"

He stood at attention before the desk in her ready room. He'd come prepared for her onslaught and he knew he deserved it.

She was furious! Her hands were on her hips as she glared at her First Officer. "Answer, me! What were you thinking?"

Before he could answer, the doors swished open and Tuvok entered. He stopped just short of her desk when he saw Commander Chakotay standing there. "I apologize, Captain. I did not mean to interrupt but I have the final report from the investigation team on the surface."

She took the report from him. "Thank you, Tuvok. I will contact you once I have read it. Dismissed." The silence seemed to drag on forever as Tuvok walked toward the door. Once he was gone her anger resurfaced and she stared at the man standing before her. "You know I'm going to have to discipline you."

"Yes."

"I should put you in the brig but we both know I can't do that."

"Yes."

"Stop agreeing with me!" She pounded her hands on the desk. "Don't you have anything else to say?"

"I was…" The door chime stopped him from continuing.

Kathryn pinched the bridge of her nose. Her headache increased exponentially with each interruption. All she wanted to do was to straighten out this mess and escape to a hot bath. What started out as a mission of mercy had turned into pure hell thanks to Tom and now Chakotay. She let out a deep breath and called the visitor into her room.

"Captain, I…" B'Elanna was so consumed with the PADD that she was carrying that she bumped into Chakotay before she noticed what she was doing. "Chakotay, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here." Kathryn breathed a sigh of relief. It was obvious from B'Elanna's reaction that she had no idea what had happened. Maybe for once she'd be able to keep something out of the rumor mill. "I didn't mean to interrupt but I have the results of the simulations you ordered. I thought you would want them right away."

"Thank you, B'Elanna. I appreciate it." B'Elanna could feel the tension in the room. She looked back and forth between the Captain and Chakotay. The Captain added, "Was there something else?"

"No, Captain. I'll get back to work."

"Thank you, B'Elanna. I will meet with you later to discuss this." She still held the report in her hand as she watched her chief engineer leave. Chakotay remained rooted to the ground in front of her desk while Kathryn crossed the room and sat on the couch. Her elbows perched on her knees as her head settled into her hands. This was not going well. She hadn't meant to yell at him. All she wanted to do was clear the air between them and return to normalcy. At least what she considered normal for them. After a few moments she finally looked up. "Chakotay I..." At that precise instant the door chimed once again. Kathryn jumped. "Dammit! Can't I even finish one simple conversation?" She looked his way and saw the smile that threatened to escape. She crossed the room and stood in front of him. "Don't even think about smiling!" She poked her finger into his chest. "I am not finished with you yet!" She walked past him and once again sat down behind her desk. She tried to calm herself before she ordered the intruder into her lair. "Come in."

Harry slowly walked into the room. The length of time it took her to answer coupled with the rough sound of her voice when she called him in made Harry realize that he'd interrupted something. "Captain, I'm sorry to disturb you. I can come back later if it's more convenient."

"What is it Harry?" Although she had tried to hide the exasperation she felt it was evident in her voice.

"I just wanted to let you know that I studied the same data as Tom did and I agree with him. Although it was impetuous, what he did was most likely the only thing that will save these people."

Harry stepped back as the Captain rose from her chair. "What Tom did was morally and ethically wrong. He had no right to impose his will on a culture that specifically forbade those actions. No matter what you or anyone else thinks, he broke the laws of the planet as well as the rules set forth by Starfleet. As such he will most likely spend the next thirty days in the brig and he may incur a reduction in rank. If you or anyone has a problem with that then you should make it abundantly clear that they would be questioning my authority as Captain if they choose to voice that opinion! I'm sure that I can count on you to make certain that the crew understands my position on this issue." By the time she finished her palms were flat on her desk and her body leaned forward toward the cowering ensign.

By the time she finished Harry was sure that she'd grown to be six feet tall. All the while she spoke he continued to back away from her desk edging ever closer to the door. His foot passed in front of the trigger and the door opened. He mumbled a quick 'yes ma'am' and escaped before she could say anything else.

"That wasn't very fair, Kathryn."

She pounced on his comment immediately. "Fair? You expect me to be fair!" By now she'd walked around her desk and was once again standing in front of him. "Well I'm not feeling very fair right now. What I am feeling is angry! In the past three hours my best pilot took it upon himself to break just about every rule of first contact. Then my First Officer decided to go to the brig and punch him in the face and all I want to do is find out why but I cannot even have a single conversation without being interrupted! So, excuse me if I'm not being fair!" Kathryn closed her eyes and hung her head in exhaustion. She sat on the edge of her desk and tried to gather her thoughts. She was so frustrated and angry that all she wanted to scream and right now Chakotay was a very convenient target just as Harry was a few minutes ago. But he was right - she wasn't being fair.

"He made you cry."

Her head came up slowly. "What'd you say?"

"I punched him because he made you cry. I saw the look on your face when you found out what he did. It was the same one you had when you put me on report for chasing after Seska. Just like me, he let you down. A little while after you left the bridge I came to here to talk to you. You tried desperately to hide it but I knew that you'd been crying. It made me so angry that he could hurt you like that so I went to talk to him. I swear, all I wanted to do was talk to him but then I saw him in there. You were here crying and he was there acting all self righteous and I couldn't control myself. I punched him." When he finished he looked up to see her staring at him. There were tears in her eyes. "Oh spirits Kathryn. Don't cry. That's what started this whole mess."

She laughed through her tears. "I can't help it. That is the sweetest thing that anyone's ever done for me."

He held out his hand to her. She cautiously took it and moved a little closer. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make things any worse for you than they already were."

"I know."

She was so close to him that he swore he could feel her heart beating. His legs had been spread as he was standing in an old military style known as at ease. Somehow she had managed to move herself directly between them. Another millimeter and her body would be pressing against his. "I promise to try to behave myself in the future."

Although her eyes were still filled with tears he saw the remnants of a smile when she looked up at him. "Don't try too hard. I kind of like my man with a hint of danger."

"Your man?" Her eyes filled with fear as she realized her slip of the tongue. He released her hand and gathered her into his arms. "I like the sound of that."

She rested her head on his chest and enjoyed the feel of his strong arms around her tiny frame. "I…" The chirp of his communicator interrupted her. They both chuckled at the irony. He lifted his hand to open the channel but kept his other firmly around her back where he gently rubbed. "Chakotay here."

"Commander this is Lt. Ayala in the brig. Mr. Paris requested that I call you. He would like to speak with you at your earliest convenience."

"Tell him that I'll be there shortly. Chakotay out." He was not sure if this was a one time event or the start of something more so he pulled her close once again so that he could enjoy the feeling for as long as possible.

She had no desire to move. In fact her desires were running in a much more lurid direction. "I guess you better go."

He could feel her hips as they pressed against his thighs. At that particular moment he was glad that she was short. If she were a few inches taller he wasn't sure that he would be able to survive the contact. "Yes, I guess I better."

"Will I see you later?"

"Absolutely."

"Dinner?"

"My place?"

He needed to distance himself from her before he lost control for the second time that day. "Fine." He broke free from her body and suddenly felt very cold. "I'll talk to you after I see Tom."

"Okay." He was almost at the door before she called him. "Chakotay…"

"I know. Don't worry, I won't hit him."

Once again she stood in front of him. "No, you don't know." She leaned up onto her toes and kissed him. She turned and headed back to her desk. "Dinner at 1900. Don't be late."

The End


End file.
